1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to vehicular seat assemblies, and more particularly, to vehicular seat assemblies of a type which has a slidable seat portion equipped with side decorative panels or finishers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one conventional vehicular seat assembly of the above-mentioned type will be described with reference to FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings.
The vehicular seat assembly 1 comprises generally a pair of seat sliders 2 (only one is shown) arranged on a vehicle floor, a seat frame 3 mounted on the seat sliders 2, a seat cushion 4 mounted on the seat frame 3, a seatback 6 connected to a rear portion of the seat frame 3 through a reclining device 5, and two side decorative panels 7 (only one is shown) attached to both sides of the seat cushion 4. Each side portion of the seat frame 3 is formed with threaded bores 3a. Each seat slider 2 comprises a lower rail 2a secured to the vehicle floor and an upper rail 2b mounting thereon the seat frame 3 and slidably disposed on the lower rail 2a through bearings.
Each decorative panel 7 is constructed of a moulded plastic and comprises a flanged major part, a plurality of ribs 7b and apertured mounting studs 7a. The decorative panel 7 is fixed to one side portion of the seat frame 3 by means of bolts 8, so that decorative panel 7 moves forward or rearward together with the seat.
Each bolt 8 is passed through the apertured mounting stud 7a and mated with the corresponding threaded bore 3a of the seat frame 3. With this, each decorative panel 7 conceals one side portion of the seat cushion 4, one seat slider 2, one side portion of the seat frame 3 and reclining device 5.
However, due to its inherent construction, the above-mentioned vehicular seat assembly has the following drawbacks.
That is, when the seat cushion 4 is depressed due to a weighty person sitting thereon, a large external force is applied to the side decorative panels 7 and thus flexed downward to such a degree that lower portions of the panels 7 are brought into contact with the vehicle floor. This contacting however, tends to produce uncomfortable noise when the seat is moved forward or rearward for the position adjustment. Furthermore, when the deformation exceeds a permitted degree, panels 7 are broken.